


Reassurance and Reconciliation

by ProPinkist



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I love Elliot and Gilbert's bro relationship so much ugh, I need more with all three ;w;, and Elly and Vince but yeah, so yeah I wouldn't read it unless you Know for maximum pain, spoilers up to chapter 47, very vague implied spoilers for after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 10:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11011224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProPinkist/pseuds/ProPinkist
Summary: During the tea party Oscar holds, Elliot talks with his older adoptive brother.





	Reassurance and Reconciliation

**Author's Note:**

> Little brotherly fluff thing for a friend of mine's birthday~ She loves Elliot, and I've never written him before, so here we are. Hope I did him justice. >< Tried to balance his tsundere-ness with his obvious care for Gilbert. Also hopefully there aren't any gaping plot holes haha... had to refresh my memory of the manga, but sometimes things still manage to slip through.
> 
> Enjoy~

“Elliot?”

At the sound of his name, the youngest Nightray glanced up and to the side from the tree he still sat at. The voice already told him who it was, but the sight of his oldest adoptive brother still surprised him a little, the other joining him on the ground. His expression was hesitant, as if he’d approached him without really knowing why, but Elliot remained silent as he waited for him to speak, his own face neutral.

“…This party is rather awkward to you, I’m sure,” Gilbert finally muttered, letting out a long sigh as he leaned against the tree heavily. “I’m not even sure why we’re here right now.”

“Oz’s uncle is a mystery to me indeed, as I told him earlier,” Elliot replied airily, sipping his tea. “…But I don’t really mind……. and I think you could use it.”

“Ah… do I really look that bad?”

Gilbert laughed weakly, and Elliot turned to observe him, masking his concern as best he could. His brother looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes, his already-pale skin looking even a bit whiter, and his hair in slight disarray, his posture appearing tense and weighty instead of relaxed. When he saw him looking, he put on a small smile, but what bothered him most of all was the almost nervousness behind it, before any other emotion.

Elliot took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he lifted his head towards the sky. He was still frustrated, and even a little hurt – but at least he had answers now, and reasons. They didn’t completely absolve him of his emotions (and in fact, maybe they made it hurt a little more, knowing that Gilbert hadn’t even come to them in the first place because of his own desire to be with them (not even with his own _blood_ brother?), but because of a change in his situation – a removal of what was normal for him that he was completely willing to return to once the option to have that back was given again, despite all those _years_ he had spent with them… Was the happiness he had with them so little that he could abandon them that easily? He knew that he and Vincent both knew that they weren’t liked by all the others, but didn’t his pride as a Nightray, living with Vincent… or living with Elliot himself… mean enough to him at all? Even _despite_ how bad things had been at the time he had left…), but his fondness for Gilbert would always outweigh his conflicting feelings on his brother’s abandonment of them, even if he would never admit it out loud. And the Vessalius brat had somehow opened his eyes about certain things… and the last thing he wanted was for Gilbert to feel ashamed to talk to him, no matter how the selfish, unfair, unreasonable side of his emotions said that it was right that he was.

He always thought too complicatedly, Elliot knew, from Leo always telling him. Here, though, he felt calmer than he had in a while, despite how chaotic everything currently was. So he would put aside his frustrations for now, and just… talk.

“…Oz is really important to you, isn’t he?”

Elliot kept his voice as calm and interested as possible, and yet he still heard Gilbert let out a little gasp from next to him. It was funny, to call him by his name for once instead of an insult, but he was reserving judgement after what he had learned, and after the conversation he and the one in question had just had earlier.

“…Yeah…” Gilbert finally answered quietly, sounding a little sad but also fond. “He was the first person I can… could… really remember that accepted me as soon as he met me… And he accepted me again, after ten years had passed, as if nothing had changed… even though everything has.”

There was a pause, and then he seemed to realize something from the small noise he made. “…O-Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t know the fu-“

“I do,” Elliot interrupted with a wave of his free hand. “Reim told me everything.”

“Oh… I see.”

Despite himself, Elliot cracked a small smile at how dumbly surprised Gilbert sounded. He let out a little sigh, leveling his gaze down again and watching the youngest (middle?) Vessalius in the distance of the field they were in. He and the Alice girl were talking to Xerxes Break – although it was less talking and more wrestling with him over treats that were spread out on one of the tables, by the looks of things. In the back of his mind, a shiver of excitement still went through his spine even now whenever he caught a glimpse of _the_ Xerxes Break (who now seemed to have recovered from whatever had afflicted him back then at Sablier), but he pushed it aside in favor of what he meant to say.

“…Hard to believe he’s actually twenty-five – makes his immaturity even more aggravating, knowing that – and has been through everything he has. Looking at how cheerful he is, you would never know… but it only irritates me more now.”

He wasn’t sure what he expected in response, but the smallness of Gilbert’s voice when he finally answered prompted Elliot to turn back to look at him.

“…You’re right… a lot has happened… I worry that he’ll hold everything in until it’s impossible for him to handle anymore.”

His expression was sad, and concerned, and stressed, and yet even recognizing his brother’s worry, Elliot could only let out a huff.

“Don’t I believe that. He doesn’t seem to value himself nearly enough at all… it’s rather scary, honestly. …Not that I’m worried about him, though! It’s just annoying to see.”

Gilbert’s chuckle reached his ears, and he turned red slightly, looking the other way. A part of him was relieved to hear the sound, though.

“I try my hardest to be there for him… If I’m being honest, however, I’m glad he’s met you now, Elliot.”

At this, he jerked his head back around, startled, his face still a little pink.

“W-What do you mean by that?!”

“…He’s really happy to have you and Leo as friends, I can tell,” Gilbert said softly, smiling, and to his chagrin, reaching out and tousling his hair. “I… I know this won’t mean anything, but… eventually I think I would have introduced you two anyway… if you would have let me.”

A waterfall of paradoxical emotions welled up inside him, pride and awe fighting against confusion and the notion that he should be insulted. He couldn’t sputter out anything yet, though, because Gilbert was still talking.

“I don’t know what exactly went on when you first met… but he’s better off knowing you guys than he was before, I think. …And I know he drives you crazy, but… Thank you, Elliot.”

Elliot found himself opening and closing his mouth dumbly like a fish, desperately clawing for something logical in his mind to say in response, as he was completely caught off-guard by his adoptive brother’s gratitude and praise. He wanted to let out a protest, as was always his first instinct in these situations, but something about Gilbert’s genuine and happy smile made him pause, and he finally managed to calm down, wetting his lips and forcing himself to speak.

“…Well… he’s frustrating, but he’s not like how I was always made to believe Vessaliuses were, at least,” he muttered, staring at the ground between his legs as he picked up his tea again stiffly. “…He… he asked me if we could change how our families see each other… It’s pretty naïve, but… it also sounds kind of nice…”

He trailed off, watching Oz again, who was now chasing around his sister without a care in the world, Ada looking so unnatural when she wasn’t proper and dainty like he usually saw her as at Lutwidge, and Elliot smiled wryly at the sight of them as he shook his head.

_What a confounding, infuriating, annoying, weird, and yet interesting and strong guy he is._

Off to the side, he spotted Alice, who was munching on something he couldn’t make out. What he did notice, however, was that she was watching him, from as far away as she was.

It made him nervous, after how she had behaved around him earlier.

“…That girl, Alice,” he murmured to Gilbert. “Is she... is Oz going to…”

Elliot didn’t know how to finish what he was trying to say, but he knew his companion understood without it even needing to be said.

“I don’t know what to do about that,” Gilbert said hoarsely, his voice barely a whisper. “I’ve… been trying not to think about it, for now… Oz wants to help her get her memory back, no matter what… and I… I don’t want to take that away from him, when he has his heart set on it.” There was a moment of silence, and then “…and she helped him get out of the Abyss; that’s the only reason he’s even here now… and… and she doesn’t _seem_ to have ill intentions on purpose… She seems like just an innocent girl… but I know she’s involved in everything that happened a hundred years ago, somehow, and it’s all so confusing, and I don’t know if uncovering her past will make things any _better_ … or _worse_ … There’s just so much… to think about…”

Gilbert let out a moan, and Elliot turned back to see his eyes screwed shut, him rubbing his head in apparent pain.

“Hey, are you okay?” He scooted a little closer, reaching out and resting a hand on his brother’s shoulder worriedly, massaging gently until the other opened his eyes again and gave him a weak smile.

“Sorry; I’ve been almost remembering things from my past recently… it’s starting to get to me, on top of… everything else.”

Elliot watched him for a few moments, silently, and then proceeded to stand up, walking away before the other could say anything else, towards one of the populated tables. He returned less than a minute later, with a fresh cup of tea in hand, and he leaned down in front of a very confused Gilbert, holding it out to him.

“…Oz isn’t the only one who needs to take care of himself, you know.”

Somehow, his brother’s eyes widened even more, and his face crumpled a little, letting out a heavy sigh as he took the offered teacup. Elliot observed how his hands trembled the slightest bit as he did so.

“Look,” he began as he sat down again, staying a little closer than he had been before, his voice firm but at the same time what he hoped was gentle enough. “Your reasons for doing what you’re doing are your own. You’re loyal to Oz, I can see that – helping him is what you want to do most of all. …I’m glad… at least… that I have a face to attach to your leaving now.”

“Elliot, I promise, Oz wasn’t why – “

“I know. It was the Headhunter situation, right? …But, everything else is why you remained away.”

He could hear the bitterness seeping into his voice, and part of Elliot felt bad for ending up attacking him now, when he was intending to try to show support for him. But it needed to be said, first.

_And now, it turns out the Headhunter **still** isn’t done with us. Even though Gilbert is gone._

Elliot held in his bitter laugh at the thought.

“…I’m not trying to blame now; not as much, anyway. …All I want to say is that… if this is what you’ve decided, I don’t want you to half-ass it.”

“…Elliot…?”

Gilbert was looking at him again with that same surprised face, and it made him appear so childish, especially when he was tired. Elliot couldn’t help but feel some satisfied amusement to know that he had sway over his older adoptive brother in at least some situations like this one (Vincent, however, was an entirely different story); in some ways, Gilbert was hardly much different than when he had actually been a child.

Realizing that, he could understand why Oz had so little trouble accepting him again as his servant after ten years.

He took another deep breath, looking Gilbert straight in the eye to make his point clear.

“Even if you’re with a Vessalius, you’re still a Nightray. So you’d better do your chosen duty the way a Nightray would. Do it right; be strong, be proud, be as smart as I know you are… so that you’re still worthy of the Nightray name, even if you’re not actually with us anymore. Still worthy to be Raven’s contractor. …Still worthy for me to call my brother.”

He blushed a little, again, recalling how he had said the last few things in a similar fashion when Gilbert had first contracted with their family Chain. Back then, he hadn’t minded that he had been the one to successfully obtain it, even though his blood brothers had been infuriated. When he had left, however, he had felt that same indignation, with the knowledge that he had not only abandoned them, but had taken their legacy with him in turn.

If Elliot was being honest with himself, though, he still could hardly imagine that anyone was more fit for the Chain than Gilbert was. Why he felt this way, he didn’t know… but a tiny part of him told him that it was right.

At the very least, Raven had more use in the life Gilbert had chosen for himself, than in his own, which was uneventful in almost every way, day after day after day (that was, until very recently).

“Elliot, I…”

“But!”

He interrupted the other quickly, before he could continue, by holding a finger up and wagging it at him.

“That doesn’t mean I want you to make yourself crazy. If you need help, or support, you need to ask for it. Whether it be from us, which means from your real brother and from me, or from the Rainsworths, or from Pandora, or whoever else – if this task you’ve taken on with Oz and Alice becomes too much for you to handle, you need to ask for help, and you need to take care of yourself. I’m counting on you to keep that idiot in line since you’re always with him… but Vincent and I and Leo will always be ready to back _you_ up too, you know.”

Gilbert did not answer at first, his mouth still forming an ‘o’ and his eyes trembling in surprise. Eventually, though, there was a reaction, and his expression melted into emotion, his lips curving into a smile as he pressed his palms onto his eyes, his tea long since forgotten and him letting out a watery laugh.

“Ah… aha… I-I wasn’t expecting such a lecture from you, Elliot,”

Elliot bit his lip as his brother regained some semblance of composure, and when the other held out his hands awkwardly and hesitantly, he knew what he was asking. He looked down at the ground again, having nodded barely imperceptibly, and it wasn’t long before he felt his upper body being pulled into a hug, Gilbert’s coat smelling faintly of earth and cigarette smoke and yet also a smell that, even after this long, Elliot could still recognize as _Gilbert._

“Leo or Oz will never let me hear the end of it if they see this,” he couldn’t keep himself from muttering, but even though it was a complaint, Gilbert’s laugh was all he really wanted to hear by saying it.

“…A-Alright, I understand you,” his brother said softly, his voice still a little teary sounding. “I don’t know how things will go from here on out, but… we’ll figure it out. I’m sure. It’s… it’s hard to talk to Vincent now… he’s so distant and confusing to me… but things will work out between us, too. Eventually. And I know I have you, too. …Thanks for being so understanding.”

He heard Gilbert take in a breath, and he waited, not saying anything else, but instead continuing to soak in his brother’s embrace, something he hadn’t felt for so long now and something that he hadn’t even realized he had missed so much until now.

“Elliot, I… I’m sorry.”

Elliot closed his eyes.

“…Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but… I had a lot of fun, back then, with you. I did. And Vincent did too. …And, just… thank you. For that happiness.”

Visions of those days came flooding back to his mind. Talking with Gilbert about Holy Knight, once Gilbert had gotten over his initial sadness that kept him from wanting to discuss it (that he now understood the reason for). Messing around with bugs outside with Vincent. Playing different character roles with both of them. Showing them how to play the piano (well, mostly Gilbert; he had an immediate fondness for it that Vincent didn’t) once Elliot had become old enough to start learning how.

Trying to figure out at first why his older blood siblings were so against them, hated them so, and why they told him to stay away from them, from the two children who would end up becoming the greatest joy of his childhood.

He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, thinking about how incredibly _happy_ Gilbert in particular had seemed in his happiest moments with him back then, almost as if he could scarcely believe such happiness would ever come to him again. Then, about how real his smile now seemed with one Oz Vessalius.

_I guess… the best brother would be glad that he still has that, no matter where he is, right?_

“…When I first met Oz, he got mad at me for spoiling something in Holy Knight, and of _course_ it was about the death of that stupid self-sacrificial Edgar, who he _would_ love. …If he’s going to be a fan of such a great series but then choose someone like _that_ as his favorite, you’d damned better keep him alive. Make sure he never becomes like Edgar.”

Gilbert let go of him then, leaning back and looking at him with the most amused and confused expression Elliot had ever seen on him. He knew that he was smirking in return, though, if only to retain at least some of his dignity, and it wasn’t long before Gilbert’s face melted into a loving smile as he ruffled his hair again.

“Alright, alright, if that’s good enough justification for you, then I’ll definitely go along with it.”

“Good. While also making sure you watch out for yourself, too.”

Elliot suddenly squirmed a little as he rubbed his chest, letting out a “tch” at the unexpected dull pain. When Gilbert noticed, his eyebrow raising in slight concern, he pulled his hand away and frowned.

“Sorry, it’s okay,” Elliot said apologetically. “Happens randomly sometimes; nothing ever comes of it.”

At this, Gilbert braved another smile, and spoke quietly.

“…Please take care of yourself too, Elliot… with the… Headhunter. We’ll work on solving that, now, so be careful, for our sakes.”

“Trying to turn things back around on me now, huh?” Elliot smirked, rolling his eyes. “I know, I know, don’t worry. I can’t stay completely out of it, though… but I promise I’ll be careful.”

“…That’s all I ask.”

With that, Gilbert turned back towards the majority of the party’s members, resting his back against the tree again. He hadn’t gotten any more rest since sitting here, but somehow, he looked a little brighter. Even still, he closed his eyes, and Elliot made no move to stop him.

He, too, relaxed back, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the warm, soothing breeze, feeling calmer, more reassured, and of a clearer mind than he had in ages.

Damn, Oz Vessalius really _had_ done a number on him.

“To answer what you said earlier, no, I actually don’t think this gathering is too bad… It’s actually pretty nice.”

Elliot rather thought he’d like to do it again, with all of his new friends, maybe next year.


End file.
